An analytical tool which identifies potential victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation without individuals coming forward has already led to arrests, according to police and the university where it was developed.
The Sexual Trafficking Identification Matrix (STIM) is being used by police to assess adult services adverts posted online for risks that suggest the people involved may be victims.
The system has been adopted by 16 police forces in the UK and one – Thames Valley – says it has led to “multiple arrests” and prompted five current live criminal investigations.
The force said the STIM has helped identify people at greatest risk who very rarely come forward of their own volition.
Detective Inspector Ben Henley, who has been leading the STIM project for Thames Valley Police, said: “One of the main challenges we had was that we were reliant on victims coming forward, which was, unfortunately, very rare.
“So the STIM has been really beneficial for us.
“It has helped us identify those at greatest risk and set time frames on how quickly we action those.
“We’ve utilised the STIM to score over 128 online adverts, and this has resulted in 40 visits being conducted at locations, with dozens of individuals safeguarded.”
Mr Henley said: “We currently have five live criminal investigations and there have been multiple arrests as a result of utilising the STIM.
“Other forces have made contact with me and I’ve provided briefings to them so they can replicate our model.
“It has also been identified as national best practice, and as a result other forces have been encouraged to follow our utilisation of the STIM.”
Dr Xavier L’Hoiry, from the University of Sheffield, who developed the STIM in collaboration with partners around the world, said the major obstacle has been to distinguish between legitimate profiles created by non-trafficked sex workers and those posted by traffickers.
He said the tool does this by analysing elements such as the photographs, language and details used to produce a rating to decide whether the advert is low, medium or high risk.
This can then be used to decide whether to investigate and to provide support for potential victims.
Dr L’Hoiry, from the university’s School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations, said: “In the digital age, the use of some adult service websites by criminals presents a growing challenge in the battle against human trafficking and there is growing evidence that traffickers are using them to reach a larger customer base and operate with less risk of being caught by law enforcement.
“By developing a tool like STIM, we wanted to help those working to tackle human trafficking to be more efficient in their efforts to reach out to those vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
“Previously, organisations would need to look through thousands of adverts online manually, which can take a massive toll on those doing the work.”
He said: “The STIM still relies on human intervention but it aims to make the risk assessment process much quicker and straightforward for those involved.”
Dr L’Hoiry said: “STIM has already delivered many benefits to users, taking our research beyond the walls of the university to connect with the organisations making a difference for potential victims.
“Our ambition is that every police force in the UK, and charities and organisations in the third sector, here and worldwide, adopt the use of the STIM tool to help assist their work in identifying victims of human trafficking and developing meaningful interventions to support them.”
Dr L’Hoiry said the STIM has so far been adopted by 16 police forces, led by Thames Valley, and two charities in the UK, four police forces abroad, and the Danish Centre Against Human Trafficking in Denmark.
He said he worked with various national and international partners to develop the tool, including the universities of Northumbria and Copenhagen, law enforcement, charities and non-governmental organisations.
